iCIMS tracks the top talent with software

Colin Day, president and CEO, iCIMS posing with the company mascot “Ike.” - (AARON HOUSTON)

Not long ago, companies widely viewed recruiting as inseparable from the complete human resources menu.

Not so anymore. Matawan-based software provider iCIMS sees a growing market for talent acquisition as a separate niche. In other words, say goodbye to the package deal.

"There's a big difference between the wild, wild west of hiring and recruiting versus the more buttoned-down human resources responsibilities of how to manage an organization," CEO Colin Day said. "We focus specifically on talent acquisition, on the recruitment side of the equation."

iCIMS' growth backs up the claim. The company, which sells Web-based talent management software, posted $37 million in revenue in 2012, up 68 percent from 2011. It estimates 2,000 clients, spanning from small companies to human resources departments at Amazon and FedEx.

Day said much of the growth reflects migrations from companies that previously purchased software as part of a complete package of human resource services, ranging from payroll to performance reviews to succession planning and training programs. Companies such as ADP, Oracle, Workday and SAP are big players in that field.

Day said the explosion of applicants using social media and mobile devices to navigate job hunts is fueling a shift toward recruiting as a standalone function. Web sites such as LinkedIn can be a great resource for both recruiters and job searchers, though it might be unwieldy for a single company's human resources staff to track without automating software.

"At the end of the day, all of the data has to come into a system of record," Day said. "We are that system of record."

That system goes beyond social media. LinkedIn's estimated 259 million accounts, whose users vary in terms of activity, represent a fraction of the global work force.

About one third of jobs are landed through employer referrals, Day said. Plus he said many blue-collar manufacturing workers and retail and health care employees don't participate on LinkedIn.

"It's a common misconception that the entire world is on LinkedIn," Day said. "Where do we come in? We cast a wider net."

Day said iCIMS services also analyze data so clients can identify what sources are most successful in locating good hires, be it CareerBuilder or LinkedIn. Its software also helps companies comply with diversity requirements.

"It really is trying to bring one-stop shopping so you can get everything in the world of talent acquisition," Day said.

Clients cite the quick accessibility of iCIMS systems.

Megan Jordan, a corporate recruiter at Brown Distributing Company, has been using iCIMS software since 2011, a two-year timeframe that coincides with the West Palm Beach beer distributor's hiring push of about 150 employees.

Jordan, who handles hiring with one colleague, said iCIMS' Web-based software enables the two-person staff to share information without requiring the other's login information, making it easier to resume work on an applicant when the other recruiter is absent. iCIMS is also efficient at tracking background checks, she said.

"iCIMS has allowed us to keep all information in one spot that's easy to find and you can drop on the dime," said Jordan, whose company distributes beer in Florida and Virginia. "That also makes it easy to communicate with all our locations."

iCIMS is hiring to support its client growth. The company expects to add about 120 positions in 2014 atop its 300 or so employees now, who are mostly software developers.

Plus, Day believes uncharted waters remain, estimating a $5 billion market still waiting to be addressed in an industry niche that has no dominant leader.

"We truly believe we have an opportunity to own this market," Day said. "There really aren't other companies like us on the East Coast. There aren't a ton of us in New Jersey."